(AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2015, file photo, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors Inc., introduces the Model X car at the company's headquarters in Fremont, Calif. Tesla Motors customers will get enhanced radar and other features in an over-the-air software update that starts Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2016. The update makes the Model S sedan and Model X SUV more reliant on radar than cameras when driving in Tesla's semi-autonomous Autopilot mode. Teslas made after October 2014 have radar. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)
- Tesla is again the most-shorted US stock by short interest, according to data from S3 Partners.
- The automaker overtook Apple for the top spot at the end of January, the S3 data show.
- On Monday, Tesla's short interest was nearly $16 billion, while Apple's was about $13 billion.
- Here are the top 10 most-shorted stocks in the US.
- Watch Tesla trade live on Markets Insider.
- Read more on Business Insider.
Tesla's record-breaking rally is solidifying its spot as the most-shorted stock in the US.
The Elon Musk-led automaker regained its position as the most-shorted stock in the US at the end of January, when its short interest, or dollar amount of shares borrowed to bet against, overtook Apple's, according to data from financial-analytics firm S3 Partners.
On Monday, Tesla's short interest was nearly $16 billion and 18.22% of its float, or total shares available to trade. Apple's short interest was about $13 billion, and less than 1% of its float.
Tesla stands out as a highly shorted stock because of its size compared to some of the other companies on S3's list - for example, Apple's market capitalization is about 10 times larger than the automaker's.
Tesla has a long history of being a popular stock for traders betting both for and against the company. While Tesla bulls are cheering the stock's rally, some short-sellers are also digging in their heels. On Tuesday, Citron Research, run by Andrew Left, a noted short-seller who famously changed his mind after shorting Tesla, tweeted that "even Elon would short the stock here."
Short-sellers, or traders betting against Tesla, have been burned badly by the stock's parabolic rise. On Monday, they were down more than $8 billion in mark-to-market losses, and the stock has continued to climb. Now, investors are watching for an epic short squeeze, or event where short-sellers are forced to cover their shares and exit the short position en masse.
But that might not happen for Tesla, according to Ihor Dusaniwsky, the managing director of predictive analytics at S3.
"It is more likely to be a continuous slow decline in shares shorted rather than a sudden abrupt plunge," he wrote in a note Monday. "This is due to the amount of short hedging that is being done to offset Tesla convertible bond and option exposure."
Here are the top 10 most-shorted stocks in the US, ranked in order of lowest to highest short interest, according to data from S3 Partners.
